Acting legend Valerie Harper became a bigger inspiration to the world when she was cast in this season's "Dancing With The Stars." Harper had been diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year, with doctors giving her only a few more months to live. However, she overcame her "expiration date" as she jokingly said in the first episode, and even her doctor was amazed by her death defying health but also stated "The problem is that at any time this can change." The television actress made her name playing Rhoda Morgenstern on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its spinoff "Rhoda." Her stint on "Dancing with the Stars" is a dream come true, she says.
Unfortunately, her stint on "DWTS" ended last night, after dancing a Viennese waltz to the song "Carry On," by Fun with Irish partner Tristan MacManus. And she teared up as she listened to its inspirational lyrics. Harper said it had been "absolutely wonderful" to be on the show and "It was an opportunity for me to carry a message," that people, no matter what adversity they're facing, should keep trying, she said. Her pro partner said his life was better for having known Harper and it was obvious how inspired he was by her since in the previous weeks he was shown tearing up after praising Valerie during rehearsals.
The audience got to their feet and applauded as they said goodbye to the pair, who stood in front of the judges' table. "It has been absolutely wonderful - completely unique, like nothing else in the world that you would ever do," the Mary Tyler Moore star said. Although this was a predicted but bittersweet goodbye, the show had a lot of funny moments, great dances and a new guest judge stirring things up a little bit, and giving sharp advice to the competitors, who each week struggle with different obstacles, injuries and packed schedules to bring the best they can to the dance floor.
This week Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke started the competition, with a quick Foxtrot showing off Jack's understanding of what the judges have been telling him for the past few weeks. His footwork was finally almost perfect and his agility and flow with the dance, was complimented by the judges. We also saw Elizabeth Berkley Lauren and pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy performing an incredible tango, with a lot of passion and sensuality. The duo looked as a whole throughout the performance, carrying through a powerful dance that earned the judges' approval. Truth is, everyone wanted more. It was perfection.
Nevertheless, Carrie Ann Inaba, pro dancer Julianne Hough, filling in for Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli couldn't say the same thing for Brant Daugherty and Peta Murgatroyd, whose routine was a lot of movements but not a lot of salsa. They fell short on a few technicalities, but the female judges did appreciate Brant's shirtlessness. "That was awesome," said a flustered Julianne, joking: "I don't know if I told you this but I'm single now." But she dubbed the routine "sloppy." Things were a little brighter for Leah Remini and Tony Dovolani, whose Cha Cha was full of rhythm and sass, and Leah's golden outfit, resembling Jennifer Lopez, caught Bruno's eyes. "Leah from the block - a block of simmering gold," he said.
How could we forget about Bill Engvall and Emma Slater's Samba? Although Bill complained he felt like a "creepy old man," this comedian brought the house down with some serious hip movements. "They love you," Julianne said of the audience, who added that he reminded her of her dad. "You are just so much fun," added Carrie Ann. Nicole Polizzi also proved that she's very talented and flexible, and put on display her cheerleading talents on her jive. During rehearsals the former "Jersey Shore" star confessed to partner Sasha Farber she struggled with an eating disorder in school because she saw all the new girls who were skinnier than her and thought they were going to take her spot on the cheerleading squad. Thankfully, she overcame this disease and was able to put her past behind her pulling off an impressive backflip during her routine.
Bringing a lot of fire, and controversy to the show were Christina Millian and Mark Ballas with a sensual foxtrot. However, Julianne Hough had some choice words for the performance. "I was hoping for a more of a softer side," said Julianne of Christina, adding that she always comes out as a strong, dominant woman in all of her performances. She went on saying, "I really wanted to see you shine. I've danced with Mark and you have to stand in front to make sure you're seen." Luckily, Mark and Christina didn't take it too personal. Another heated performance was Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff's. They danced a powerful Paso Doble that left everyone in the audience on their feet clapping. "The intensity was smoldering," said Carrie Ann of the routine.
Another intense performance was Amber Riley and Derek Hough's. It's probably safe to say that was the dance everyone was waiting for, since Julianne had to judge her own brother and the world wanted to know how she was going to treat his routine. Although Amber had a tough week with a knee injury that prevented her from being fully present in rehearsals, she pulled through, delivering yet another amazing performance, proving again that being a certain body type doesn't mean you can't be at the same level as other dancers. "You are in fine form tonight," said Carrie Ann. "It was so crisp and clean."
Before Julianne began to give them her review, Derek jokingly gave her $10, to which she replied, "Where's my Barbie's head? That's what I want to know." Nevertheless, she was pretty fair with the performance. "I was hoping something would go wrong," she said, explaining it would have been easy then to mark him. Amber and Derek got a 27 out of 30, and Bruno took Derek's $10.
Did you watch the show? What did you think of the performances? Who do you think will be heading home next week?
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